Huddlers in the News

“I told my Creative Director he had to work faster,” said a CEO from a tech startup after hearing a presentation on “creating a brand in 5 minutes!” at HumanX. Hiding my horror, I asked the CEO what she meant. I hated her answer. So will creatives everywhere.

Downsides of Speed-Obsessed Branding

What the CEO said…

“Creative design just takes too long. I needed some support materials for this conference. Our CD gave me way too many options for things like stickers. There were multiple rounds of revisions, and each one took time. I wasn’t even happy with the final creative. But maybe I’m not the target. They are the creatives, and it’s their call. But after seeing the presentation on brand creation via GenAI, I just know they could create everything 5-10x faster.”

What I was thinking…

The notion that you can create a differentiated and enduring brand in 5 minutes is sheer lunacy and an unfortunate takeaway from an otherwise brilliant conference.

The focus on speed, above all else, has horrendous implications. First, it has the potential to burn out employees, especially creative people. While some stress (like deadlines) is helpful to the creative process, every single project can’t be a fire drill. That leads to burnout. Second, emphasizing speed will impact quality. “Good enough” will become the rule. Which is fine or disastrous, depending on the deliverable. [“Don’t worry, I’m sure our AI-generated design plans for the spaceship are good enough” won’t go over well with the astronaut about to board!]

What Can CMOs Do About Rising CEO Expectations Around Speed of Delivery?

Pick your battles.

There are multiple opportunities to increase the speed of creative development without sacrificing quality (too much). A marketing leader at a $400 million SaaS brand shared, “We’re using GenAI to crank out 120 localized iterations of 20 different digital ads.” “The time savings is enormous, and our creatives cheered since that stuff is tedious,” she added. [LMK your speedy wins w/GenAI]

Swami Sivasubramanian, VP, Agentic AI at Amazon Web Services, emphasized three big categories for applying AI during his presentation at HumanX:

1. Workplace productivity (they used AI to reduce new hire training time by 67%)
2. Business workflows (they saved 4000 in development hours automating multi-step tasks like compliance workflows)
3. Innovation and research (they radically accelerated R&D cycles saving “nearly 5 years of work”)

Efficiency ≠ Effectiveness

CMOs need to keep their eyes on the prize. That means focusing on impact, not output. For example, helping Sales improve and accelerate their close rates by a few %points will dramatically impact the entire org. Do that, and you’ll buy some time to think through how your brand and GTM may need to evolve over the next 18-36 months in order to increase your pricing power.

Even with the help of AI, that will take more than 5 minutes!

[Note: This editorial "rant" with all its flaws was 100% human-generated.]

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 451: Events with Intent: How CMOs Turn Brand Moments into Growth

You can spend six figures on an event and still walk away with nothing but badge scans and a fuzzy sense of brand presence. But when you treat it as a full-funnel campaign, that’s when the impact starts early and lasts well beyond the event itself.

In this episode, Drew Neisser is joined by Ellina Shinnick (HUB International), Kevin Ruane (Precisely), and Isabelle Papoulias (EliteOps) to explore how teams show up with intention and turn B2B events into focused, cross-functional efforts that build brand, strengthen buyer confidence, and avoid the all-too-common post-event fade.

In this episode:

• Ellina breaks down HUB’s three-part event framework: Sales alignment, rigorous ROI auditing, and one bold theme that ties it all together.
• Kevin shares how a shift from demand gen to brand-first events, paired with sideline plays and airport branding, led to unexpected revenue wins.
• Isabelle gives the play-by-play on how startups can show up strong with limited budgets and purposeful sequencing.

Plus:

• Why pre-event planning is where ROI starts
• How to audit your event calendar for strategic fit (not just attendance numbers)
• What actually works for post-event follow-up, and what to skip
• Why one big creative idea can carry you through a whole year of events

Tune in to steal what works and rethink how events drive brand and pipeline!

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcast/

"Drew, everyone's talking about emerging trends, but I'm still trying to figure out how we get organic attention on LinkedIn. Meanwhile, my CFO wants us to be 'more predictable,' my first-party data is a mess, and don't get me started on our AI strategy. How do we separate the signal from the noise?" chorused several CMOs during a recent Peer Huddle.

If this sounds familiar, take comfort. You're not alone in this swirl of shiny objects. Here's a fascinating fact: Penguins can actually see underwater better than they can on land, and they're able to spot both nearby threats and distant opportunities. That's exactly the kind of vision CMOs need right now.

So, my fellow marketing penguins here's one last post on how CMOs can cut through in 2025. Today, we're diving into emerging trends.

21. Vertical Marketing: The New Horizontal Growth

One CMO recently shared how they stopped trying to be everything to everyone and instead went deep into two verticals. The result? Their pipeline doubled while their CAC dropped faster than Nvidia's stock after DeepSeek launched. The key? They didn't just change their messaging – they rebuilt their entire GTM around vertical-specific pain points, channels, and buying cycles.

22. First-Party Data: Your New Best Friend

With privacy regulations tighter than a penguin huddle in winter, your first-party data strategy is essential for survival. But here's the twist: One CMO actually reduced their data collection by 30% and saw engagement spike. Why? Because they started collecting what mattered, not what they could.

23. Influence the Influencers

B2B influencer marketing isn't about finding someone with a zillion followers to hawk your goods. It's about building relationships with the voices your customers actually trust. One CMO scrapped their influencer budget and instead created a "wisdom network" of industry veterans. The result? More credibility than a Warren Buffett investment tip.

24. Change Management: Your Secret Weapon

How many transformation initiatives died a quiet death in your organization last year? One CMO I know now treats every new marketing initiative like a change management project. Their secret? They stopped selling the what and started with the why.

25. AI Bots: The Superhuman Touch

Before you roll your eyes at another AI mention, check out what Amanda at 1Mind.ai is doing. This isn't your standard chatbot – it's what happens when AI actually makes customer success more human, not less. It’s still early days, but the initial customer results from 1Mind’s bot are mind-blowing.

That's it. 25 ways to cut through in 2025. The common thread? They're all part of a bigger strategy to make B2B marketing more human, more effective, and maybe even a little more fun.

To all the CMOs out there swimming against the current: Keep diving deep, stay focused on what matters, and remember – even penguins look awkward on land sometimes, but they're absolutely magnificent when they're in their element.

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 449: The CAB Playbook: Structure and Follow-Through

Most companies launch a customer advisory board with good intentions. A few emails go out, a meeting gets booked, and then… not much happens. But when CABs are built with the right structure and support, they can drive some serious value for the business and the customer.

In this episode, Drew Neisser talks with Melanie Marcus (Surescripts), Marca Armstrong (Sensera Systems), and Marina Ilishaev (Boardstream AI) about what separates a one-off event from a CAB that earns ongoing attention, input, and trust. From executive alignment to post-meeting follow-through, this conversation is packed with real examples of CABs done right and lessons from the ones that nearly fell flat.

In this episode:

• How Surescripts turned a CAB into a strategic driver over six years
• How Sensera uses CAB insights to steer product and sales direction
• Why structure, ownership, and trust matter more than slick agendas

Plus:

• How to get buy-in from execs, internal teams, and customers
• Ways to keep CABs active between meetings
• Metrics that help track engagement and impact

Tune in to learn what it takes to build a CAB your customers want to be part of, and your team can actually learn from!

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcast/

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 448: The CMO’s Path to the Boardroom

Think CMOs don’t belong in the boardroom? Think again. Today’s top marketers are stepping beyond the C-suite, bringing strategic insight, customer obsession, and data-driven decision-making to board-level conversations. But how do you actually make that leap?

In this episode of Renegade Marketers Unite, Drew Neisser sits down with three marketing leaders who’ve done just that: Denise Vu Broady (Collibra), Peter Finter (KX), and Katrina Klier (Sage Strategy Group). They share how they earned board seats—and how you can too.

In this episode:

• How Denise mapped her board journey five years in advance
• Why Peter leads with risk and strategy to earn trust at the top
• What Katrina looks for in a board-ready résumé (hint: it’s not brand metrics)

Plus:

• Why nonprofit and advisory roles are the best launchpads
• When to invest in certifications like NACD and PDA
• How to talk board ambitions with your CEO (without raising red flags)
• Why CMOs are more board-ready than they realize

Whether you’re just curious or actively pursuing a seat, this episode is your inside track to the boardroom.

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcast/

"Drew, my calendar looks like a game of Tetris gone wrong, I haven't had time to think strategically since 2023, and my team keeps scheduling 'quick syncs' that are longer than The Brutalist. I'm drowning in the tactical while the strategic gasps for air!" declared a CMO whose calendar I glimpsed during a recent coaching session.

Here, we have a classic case of calendar chaos. Did you know that Emperor penguins are masters of energy conservation? They can slow their heart rate to just a few beats per minute when diving, saving their strength for what truly matters. Now, that's what I call operational excellence!

Welcome, marketing penguins, to part 4 of my series on how CMOs can cut through in 2025. Today's focus? Mastering your time before it masters you.

16. Delegate or Drown

Here's a radical thought: What if you weren't the bottleneck for every decision? I recently watched a CMO transform her effectiveness by delegating 20% more – starting with all those "optional" meetings she was automatically invited to. Her secret? She asked herself one question before every commitment: "Do I really have to be in this meeting?"

17. No Agenda, No Attendah

Let's make this our new mantra, folks. Would you board a flight without knowing the destination? Then why join a meeting without knowing its purpose? One CMO I know reduced her meeting time by 40% with one simple rule: No agenda in the calendar invite = automatic decline. It sounds harsher than it is. Your team will thank you.

18. Time Tracking Isn't Just for Billable Hours

"But Drew, I know how I spend my time!" That's what they all say until they actually track it. One CMO discovered she was spending 60% of her time on "urgent" tasks that could have been handled by her team. The wake-up call? Realizing she'd spent more time in status updates than on strategy.

19. Think Time: Your New Non-Negotiable

Blocking 5 hours weekly for strategic thinking isn't just nice to have – it's survival. One CMO schedules his think time at 7 AM, calling it his "strategic sunrise." Corny? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely. He's now driving organizational change well beyond marketing.

20. The Great Meeting Purge

Warning: This might hurt a bit. One CMO audited every recurring meeting on her calendar and found that 35% were zombie meetings – they died of irrelevance months ago but kept shuffling along, eating brains and productivity. Her solution? A quarterly calendar reset where every recurring meeting must reapply for its spot.

Here's the truth about operational excellence: It's not about doing more things – it's about doing more of the right things. Your calendar isn't just a collection of meetings; it reflects your strategy. Or lack thereof.

And to all those meeting-happy executives out there: Just because you can schedule a meeting doesn't mean you should. Try an email. Or better yet, trust your team to figure it out.

What's your favorite time management tip?

Read Part 5

Written by Drew Neisser

"Drew, everyone's talking about customer centricity, but my executive team thinks it means sending out another NPS survey. Meanwhile, our customers are as quiet as the Cameron Crazies are loud, and our community efforts have all the energy of a sloth meditation retreat. What am I missing?" confessed a huddle of B2B CMOs.

What they’re describing is the gap between customer-centric theater and actual customer-centric growth. Speaking of fascinating behaviors, did you know that penguin pairs return to the exact same spot every year to reunite with their mates? Sounds a lot like customer loyalty to me! And they don't achieve it through surveys – they do it by creating meaningful connections.

So, my fine feathered marketing friends (yes, penguins have feathers, too), here's part 3 of 5 posts on the 25 ways CMOs can cut through in 2025.

11. Self-Serve or Self-Sabotage?

How about letting customers discover, evaluate, and even buy our solutions without forcing them through our "optimized" sales process? I recently heard of a $75M company doubling its pipeline by simply creating an intuitive self-serve experience. Their secret? They actually asked customers how they wanted to buy.

12. Your CAB Needs More Than a Facelift

One CMO I know transformed their CAB from a quarterly snooze fest into a year-round insights engine. The key was that they stopped treating it like a presentation platform and started treating it like a partnership incubator.

13. Podcasting: The New Power Lunch

The most successful B2B podcasts aren't corporate infomercials – they're authentic conversations that make your customers the heroes. One CMO's podcast started with 50 listeners (mostly their team) and, one year later, is driving 30% of their pipeline. The difference? They focused on sharing stories from an underserved niche audience and avoided sales pitches.

14. Partnership or Just Another Press Release?

Quick quiz: How many of your 2024 partnerships actually delivered value? If you're drawing a blank, you're not alone. But the CMOs who are winning aren't just signing logo-swapping deals – they're creating genuine value exchanges. Once you establish a reputation as a great partner, other partners will seek you out, and that's when flocking awesome happens.

15. Community: Your New Growth Engine

Most B2B communities have all the vitality of a corporate cafeteria on WFH Friday. But when done right? Pure magic. Just ask Latané Conant, who grew 6Sense's community into a movement. The secret? Stop thinking about community as a marketing channel and treat it like your crown jewels.

Customer-centric growth is about fundamentally changing how you engage with, learn from, and create value for your customers.

And to all those executives who think customer centricity means sending another survey: Maybe it's time to actually talk to a customer? Just a thought.

Next week: The five more ways for B2B CMOs to cut through in 2025. Spoiler alert: It won't involve asking for NPS scores.

Read Part 4

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 445: Marketing + Comms: Getting in Sync

When marketing and comms teams aren’t aligned, it shows.

In this episode, Drew Neisser is joined by CMOs Cary Bainbridge (ABM Industries), Laura MacGregor (Center for Internet Security), and Grant Johnson (Chief Outsiders) for a candid look at what it really takes to get marketing and comms moving in sync. From co-owning messaging to embedding AI tools and crisis plans into the mix, these leaders share how to stay coordinated without stepping on each other’s toes.

Here’s what you’ll hear:

• How Cary and her comms partner rolled out a brand relaunch to 100,000 employees
• Why Laura brought marketing and comms under one roof, and what that made possible
• How Grant built cross-functional accountability with the right metrics

Plus:

• What to do when misinformation hits, and the playbooks you’ll want ready
• How AI is speeding up localization, automation, and cross-team coordination
• How to activate internal brand champions and cross-functional councils
• What stakeholder engagement looks like when it’s done right
• Why comms needs a direct line to the C-Suite, and what happens when it doesn’t

If you’re done playing telephone across departments, this episode offers a practical path to alignment so marketing and comms stay in sync. Tune in!

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcast/

"Drew, my tech stack is taller than Taylor Swift's earnings, my team is buried under AI tools they barely understand, and my CEO just asked why we haven't created our 'Travis Kelce moment' with our enterprise software solution. Help!" lamented a metaphorical CMO from almost every B2B enterprise brand.

If this sounds familiar, let's grab a virtual coffee. You're caught in the classic trap of too much tech and too little strategy. Did you know Emperor penguins can dive up to 1800 feet deep for food? But here's the thing - they don't dive that deep just because they can. They dive with purpose, hunting only what they need.

So, my dear marketing penguins, it's time for my second installment of 25 ways B2B CMOs can cut through in 2025.

6. Tech Stack or Tech Snack?

Here's a radical thought: More tech doesn't equal better marketing. I recently watched a CMO slash their martech budget by 40%, and – plot twist – their results improved. Why? Because they stopped paying for tools that were about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Start by asking one simple question: "Is anyone actually getting value from this tool?"

7. AI Won't Replace Your Team (But AI-savvy Marketers Will)

If your team isn't comfortable with AI by now, you're already behind. But before you panic-buy every AI course on Udemy, remember this isn't about replacing humans – it's about supercharging them. One CMO I know started with a simple rule: Every team member had to automate one routine task per month.

8. Research at the Speed of Barbie's Box Office Success

AI-driven research tools can now deliver insights faster than you can say "statistical significance." Just remember: AI is your research assistant, not your replacement. One CMO learned this the hard way when their AI tool concluded that their target market was "everyone with a pulse." [If you’re unfamiliar with Evidenza, fix that. They’re delivering research 4x faster at ½ the cost.]

9. ChatBots That Don't Make You Want to Rage-Quit

Most chatbots have the personality of a DMV employee having a bad day. But the new generation of GenAI-powered bots? They're different. They learn, adapt, and actually help your customers (while gathering priceless data). For a look at this future, log into 1mind.ai and have a chat with Amanda.

10. Sales Enablement Gets Personal (Finally!)

Enough with the one-size-fits-all sales decks that put prospects into a coma. GenAI is transforming sales enablement from a content dump into a precision instrument. Your sales team gets personalized tools, prospects get relevant information, and everyone stays awake.

Technology should serve your strategy, not drown it. In 2025, success isn't about having the biggest tech stack or the most AI tools – it's about having the right ones and using them brilliantly.

Stay tuned for next week's installment of 25 Ways for CMOs to Cut Through in 2025. Spoiler alert: It won't involve dating a Kansas City Chief.

Read Part 3

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 444: B2B CMOs Deploying GenAI to Win

GenAI has moved past the “what if” stage. Now it’s more like, “what else can we use this for?” And that change in mindset is reshaping the day-to-day—from big-picture strategy to the smallest tasks.

In this episode, Drew Neisser talks with Karen Feldman (Iron Mountain), Adriana Gil Miner (Iterable), and Jeff Morgan (Elements), three marketing leaders who’ve made GenAI part of their daily toolkit. They’re applying GenAI to content engines, campaign strategy, customer journeys—and they’re seeing results that are hard to ignore.

Here’s what you’ll hear:

• How IBM used Adobe Firefly to produce 10x more content and beat campaign benchmarks by 26x.
• The Iterable ad challenge that doubled demo requests and surfaced unexpected creative talent.
• Why GenAI is showing up in customer journeys, sales enablement, and day-to-day ops.
• How small teams are using tools like Descript, RAG, and custom GPTs to scale smartly.
• What it looks like when AI becomes a creative partner, not just a shortcut.

Plus:

• How to steer clear of the GenAI “sea of sameness”
• Why personalization at scale is finally within reach
• The shift from doing more to doing better

If you’re trying to move from GenAI curiosity to confident action, this one’s worth a listen.

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcast/